Irish man finds huge air pocket in his skull

An 84-year-old man has declined surgery after a massive air-pocket was found in his brain.

The man went to Causeway Hospital in Northern Ireland after becoming uneasy and taking a few falls.

He noted his left arm and leg had also become weaker but his apparent fitness and lack of "confusion or facial weakness" led doctors to believe there was nothing obvious, aside from age, to explain his symptoms.

However, the doctors insisted on a thorough investigation and made a startling discovery after performing a CT and MRI.

"CT of the brain showed a large (nine-centimetre) air-filled cavity within the right frontal lobe," Dr Finlay Brown wrote in a BMJ Case Reports study.

The pneumocephalus, or air in the cranial cavity, presented as a large dark space in the place of his brain.

"In my research for writing the case report I wasn't able to find very many documented cases of a similar nature to this one," he added.

Generally, pneumocephalus appear after brain surgery, sinus infections or head and facial injuries.

But the patient said he had suffered none.

Dr Brown reported the air-pocket had actually been caused by a benign bone tumour in the man's sinus, which had eroded the base of his skull and created a "one-way valve" into his cranium, according to the BMJ Case Reports study.

He said it had likely been forming over months, even years.

"When the patient sniffed/sneezed/coughed he would most likely be pushing small amounts of air into his head," Dr Brown told the Post.

While the air-pocket had also caused the patient to suffer a mild stroke, he declined surgery to decompress the pneumocephalus or remove the tumour due to his age and other health issues.

After a prolonged stay in hospital due to an upper respiratory tract infection, he was given medication to decrease the risk of another stroke.

At his twelve-week check-up he said the weakness in his left side had eased.

Dr Brown said the 84-year-old patient's case was a warning to other physicians not to write off common symptoms.

"Because every now and then, there will be a rare [or] unknown causation of these that could be overlooked," he told LiveScience.